You’ve worked hard for many years and you’re now retired. While retired life may be a lot slower than the normal daily hustle and bustle of life, you still may be looking for ways to earn an extra hundred dollars per day.
Maybe you just need to supplement some of your retirement income. Or, perhaps you’re looking for a way to keep busy during the day and interact with other people.
Regardless of your reason for wanting to work during retirement, there are many part-time driving jobs for seniors near you.
While you may not want to go back into the traditional job force, flexible work-from-home or part-time jobs are often perfect for retirees looking to earn some extra cash.
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Why Courier Jobs are Great for Seniors
Driving and courier driving jobs are among some of the most popular job options for seniors looking to work part-time.
If you’re looking to get out and remain active, you can run light errands for others including grocery shopping, picking up and sending mail, etc.
These jobs may involve some walking and communication with others, but the work doesn’t have age limitations or strict requirements to get started.
You can also often set your own schedule or work a flexible schedule that allows you to work early mornings, afternoons, or even evenings and weekends.
There’s always delivery work and errands with courier jobs so you can find many suitable options for you.
Below, you’ll learn about some of the best courier jobs for seniors along with the top driving jobs for retirees.
Best Part-Time Driving Jobs for Seniors Near Me
The food delivery industry is booming right now. Food delivery companies bring in billions and this once luxury convenience is extremely common today.
People are more than willing to spend some extra money to get their favorite restaurant meals delivered to their door.
Food delivery apps like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Postmates all hire independent contractors to deliver local food orders to customers.
Food delivery jobs are perfect for seniors because they allow you to set your own hours and work as little or as much as you’d like.
All you need is a car and a smartphone so you can download the app to help you find and complete delivery jobs.
Below are some of the best food delivery driving jobs for retirees.
1. DoorDash
DoorDash is a major food delivery app that is one of the best driving jobs for senior citizens because you can find work almost anywhere.
To work as a Dasher, you will need to pass a background check. They provide you with an insulated bag and a credit card that will only be used if you need to pay for a food order when you pick it up.
Most of the time, customers pay for their orders through the app when they place them.
To sign up for DoorDash, you’ll need to go to the website and click ‘Become a Dasher’ at the bottom.
Enter your zip code and basic information to begin the process. DoorDash is available in over 4,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
You can schedule yourself for shifts on the app in advance or go online in the app whenever you’re ready to start working and the area is red.
Your app will show a map of your area and if the area is red, that means orders are coming through and you can log on and get delivery requests.
There are downtimes when things are not as busy so you may not be able to log on during these times of the day, but slow times don’t last long.
DoorDash pays weekly and you’ll earn a flat-rate per delivery plus 100% of your tips.
Related: DoorDash Review: How to Make $500 a Week Delivering Food
2. Postmates
Postmates is another food and grocery delivery app that can help you earn extra money whether you’re a senior, college student, retire, or professional looking for a side hustle.
Postmates is very similar to DoorDash given that you will get your job requests through the app and get paid through the app as well.
Signing up just takes 5 minutes and you just need to enter some basic information about yourself, take a selfie, and prove your identity.
You can set your own schedule and work as much or as little as you want. Get paid weekly or cash out your earnings instantly if you prefer to get the money quicker.
Related: 10 Best Delivery Driver Jobs Hiring Now
3. Instacart
When considering courier jobs for seniors, Instacart is high on the list. Instacart pays you to shop for others and deliver groceries to their home.
If you enjoy running errands and don’t mind following a shopping list, you could easily earn $20+ per hour with Instacart.
Instacart hires independent contractors to work part-time shopping at local stores for customers.
You get a little online training to start off and pick your shifts in advance so you’ll know your weekly schedule. Instacart still offers flexible shifts during different times of the day.
Shoppers can earn anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour depending on how efficiently they work as well as which tips are received.
The only potential downside of working with Instacart is that you may be expected to lift heavier items like a case of water as well as grocery bags if the customer orders these things.
However, Instacart also hires shoppers only to grab the items in-store and prepare them for the delivery driver so this is an option too.
Related: Jobs Where You Work Alone
4. GrubHub
Deliver food with Grubhub and get paid weekly. You can get consistent work right in your own neighborhood.
As long as there are restaurants that serve takeout in your town, you can likely get consistent work right in your own neighborhood.
Remember, people are utilizing food delivery services everywhere so there are plenty of opportunities for seniors looking for flexible driving jobs.
You’ll need a car, a valid driver’s license with insurance, a state ID, and a smartphone to get started. GrubHub provides onboarding details and allows you to pick when you want to drive and deliver orders.
Once you go online in the app, order requests will come up and you’ll need to approve them. You can generally see the restaurant when you approve an order and once you get there, you’ll see the order details so you can check them off to confirm you have them.
The great thing about GrubHub and most other food delivery apps is that they walk you through the process of picking up a food order step-by-step so it’s hard to get mixed up.
You’ll also get plenty of time to deliver the order but you should always pay attention to directions and work efficiently so you can get ready for the next order and continue to make more money.
GrubHub has recently partnered with Chase to help you cash out your delivery earnings instantly. Just connect your GrubHub account to your Chase account and you can cash out your earnings whenever you’re ready minus a $0.50 transaction fee.
New Chase checking account customers who are also GrubHub drivers can get a $200 sign-on bonus when they open a qualifying checking account. See GrubHub’s website for more details about this offer.
Related: Side Jobs Online
Rideshare Driving Jobs for Retirees
A lot of retirees might also enjoy rideshare driving. According to a survey conducted by Rideshare Guy, over 50% of rideshare drivers are over the age of 50.
Rideshare driving does not require any experience outside of knowing how to drive and use an app. You can set your own hours so it’s flexible whether you’re looking to work 5 hours per week or 40.
Rideshare drivers also usually get paid at least every week, which helps if you’re on a fixed income or looking to supplement some of your regular expenses.
Below are some of the best driving jobs for retirees.
Related: Examples of Gig Economy Jobs
5. Uber & UberEats
Uber is hands down one of the biggest rideshare companies around. People use Uber all over so they are almost always hiring new drivers.
To work for Uber as an independent contractor, you’ll need to sign up on their website and pass a background check.
Uber also has certain vehicle requirements which vary depending on the city you’re in. For example, some cities may require a newer car while others may not.
Once you’re approved to drive for Uber, you’ll use the app to go online and get trips. Nearby passengers will request an Uber ride and it may ping you to come to their location.
Being successful with Uber relies heavily on getting positive reviews and providing excellent customer service. Uber drivers earn a base rate per trip plus tips.
If you are signed up to drive for Uber, you can also easily opt-in to deliver for Uber Eats as well. Or, you can just do Uber Eats if you don’t want to do rideshare driving.
Uber Eats is very similar to apps like Postmates and DoorDash. Driving for both Uber and Uber Eats can help you stay busy and maximize your earnings just in case there are more passengers or more food deliveries at any given time.
6. Lyft
If you go to Google and search ‘part-time driving jobs for retirees near me’, Lyft likely showed up at the top of the list. You can apply with Lyft and get approved to drive in as little as 30 minutes.
Lyft is also available in multiple cities as it’s a very popular rideshare app.
When you drive with Lyft, your pay is based on the time and distance of the ride and you get to keep 100% of your tips.
All payments are made through the Lyft Driver app each week so you’ll need to connect your bank account.
Lyft has a lot of helpful tutorials on its website explaining how to give a ride, how to start driving, and more so you don’t have to be extremely technically savvy to get started.
7. Curb
Curb is a top U.S.-based taxi app. Nearly 100,000 drivers in several metro areas are already using Curb but there is still plenty of room for more.
Curb is one of the best elderly driver jobs to consider because you don’t need a personal car to work and make money. To get started, download the app and sign up as a driver.
You’ll need to verify your name, region, and license information then pick the area you can drive in.
This job is ideal for current taxi drivers or someone who has a vehicle with valid taxi license plates.
Curb provides its own mobile technology for riders to book and pay for trips. This means if you’ve been working as a cab driver you no longer have to worry about being in an outdated industry.
While rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft have become huge competitors to traditional cab companies, Curb levels the playing field with their similar technology and app-based features to help passengers book rides more easily.
According to Indeed, Curb drivers make around $17 per hour.
8. Via
Via is a rideshare company that is a little different from the other ones on this list. With Via, you choose if you want to get paid by the hour or per ride.
Also, you don’t even need to have your own car. Via is a car-sharing program that helps other people get around their area by sharing a ride with others.
To maximize your earnings with Via, you may want to drive a larger car so you can fit more passengers – that is if you’re opting to get paid per trip.
To get started you’ll need to sign up to drive with Via or join the waiting list. You’ll need a license and valid auto insurance and if you’re going to use your own car it needs to meet the following requirements:
- Model year 2010 or newer for non-luxury vehicles
- Model year 2005 or newer for luxury vehicles
- All vehicles must pass a vehicle inspection
Again, Via makes it clear that you don’t need your own vehicle to start driving. The company has partnered with E-rive to help drivers get access to affordable rental vehicles to work with.
Once you get approved, you can sign into the app and start accepting rides in your area. Each city is different and some places are more Via-friendly than others.
However, if you’re actively comparing the best driving jobs for seniors, Via is definitely an option worth looking into.
Drive Your Way through Retirement as a Courier or Rideshare Driver
You’ve probably scoured the internet trying to find meaningful and simple work as a retiree. Look no further if you enjoy driving.
Rideshare driving and food delivery jobs are some of the best for retirees because you can choose when you work and the job involves light active work.
Plus, if you enjoy being around people or interacting with others and just getting out of the house, you may enjoy jobs like delivering food with DoorDash or driving for Uber or Lyft.
